A good Sales Kickoff takes the time to celebrate, appreciate and motivate while leaving employees inspired to take on the annual plan, armed with the tools they need to be successful.
Over the past few years, Sales Kickoffs have moved between virtual and in-person and back again, with many companies landing on hybrid options. Regardless of the format, the strategies remain similar, with some modifications, for all styles of kickoff. Below we outline the best gifts and gift strategies for in-person, hybrid, and virtual Sales Kickoffs – including stealable ideas from a few Packed with Purpose clients who rocked their own Kickoffs.
Don’t Just Give a Gift, Make it a Moment
One Packed with Purpose client ordered You Got This for their team retreat in July. It’s an ideal gift for employees who need a motivational pick-me-up, with sweet and salty snacks, coffee to energize, and a brandable stress ball, featuring the phrase “You Got This!” to squeeze away any work challenge. The message is: we may have stretch goals to achieve – but we can do it together!
But, the team didn’t just open the gift and enjoy it by themselves – they opened it together as a group activity. Any opportunity to bring the team together over shared experiences and motivation can amplify your employee appreciation gift experience. And theming the gift and activity together with a similar message can help reinforce the key takeaways for the entire kickoff.
“You Got This” supports employment for adults on the autism spectrum, sports for girls in disinvested communities, and much more. A gift that reflects your company values can be embedded into your messaging throughout your Kickoff – strengthening and reinforcing what you as a team are working toward.
Tie Your Gift into Your Sales Kickoff Theme
Picking a great theme is a way to simplify messaging and easily rally the team around one concept. Your theme can unify the whole event, reinforced by everything from team-building activities, to PowerPoint backgrounds, to where you go to dinner. This also provides an exceptional opportunity to tie your gift into the theme.
Popular Sales Kickoff themes promote excitement and energy (Ignite, Reignite, Reinvigorate, Elevate), celebration (Leading the Pack, Above and Beyond, In it to Win It), collaboration (Play to Win, Partners in Progress), Innovation (“Innovate, Integrate, Motivate”, Explore the Possibilities, Break down Barriers), or reflect your company’s strategies, purpose, and values (Customer Focus, Explore Opportunities, Share the Vision, Purpose & Passion).
One Packed with Purpose client gave their sales team our Celebrate & Elevate gift, a mix of goodies showcasing some of our Black, Latino/a, AAPI, LGBTQ+, and women-owned Impact Partners, which features energy-providing snacks for the team to get pumped for the busy quarter ahead. Everyday Exploration, featuring a sustainable bamboo-wrapped travel mug, softcover notebook, and sleek pen is both functional (perfect to take notes and stay hydrated) and ties into an innovation theme intended to promote curiosity, while creating educational opportunities for children and supporting clean water initiatives.
Or amp up employee appreciation with Above and Beyond, a standout gift with a selection of premium chocolates, coffee, tea, and sweets, that also fights hunger and homelessness, provides employment opportunities for youth in the justice system, and supports women and diverse-owned businesses.
Give Something Tangible for Virtual Kickoffs
An entirely virtual Sales Kickoff can just as successfully motivate, inspire and connect your team as an in-person event – it just needs a little more attention to the details. For example, ensure fewer “lecture” style presentations in favor of breakouts, discussions, and Q&A to keep attendees engaged. And, of course, send them a gift for a shared experience despite geographic constraints.
Virtual Swag Bag provides a whole day’s worth of virtual meeting support including coffee, tea, snacks, and a stylish notebook to jot down notes while supporting employment for young adults with disabilities and schools in disinvested countries.
Or send your fully remote staff the Work From Home Gifts, to upgrade their workspace with a new journal, durable tumbler for morning coffee and happy-hour cocktails, and of course, a post-lunch chocolate pick-me-up that invests in the quality of our waterways, eco-friendly production, and helps reduce single-use plastics.
You can make this a moment by having everyone hold off opening their gifts together during the opening of your kickoff.
Thank the Real MVPs
One Packed with Purpose client got creative with their gifting – recognizing the sacrifice the teams’ families and loved ones make for an in-person event. While the sales team gets motivated, their spouse, partners, parents, and pet sitters received a branded notebook.
A Token of Appreciation will sweeten their week while supporting cancer survivors, preservation of natural waterways, and more. Or send them our curation of best-sellers, A Sweet Thanks Signature, to keep them happily snacking while supporting ovarian cancer research, providing jobs to adults on the autism spectrum, reducing food waste and so much more.
Our gifts will not only inspire and motivate your sales team, they also make a tangible social and environmental impact – ideal for reflecting your DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), ESG (Environmental, Sustainability, and Government), or CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) goals. Give them Workday Wellness and support education or support reforestation efforts and exemplify your eco-friendly policies with Sustainable Luxuries. You can also choose unique gift boxes for employees that align with your company’s values and leave a lasting impact.
Many Packed with Purpose gifts are already ideal for your Sales Kickoff. But, if you want something even more customized to your company’s brand – our Gift Concierge team can craft the perfect employee pump-up gift to get your team going in the New Year. Let us know how we can support your 2023 Sales Kickoff today!
